Systems and methods for tracking and presenting tinnitus therapy data

ABSTRACT

The treatment of tinnitus may include a tinnitus therapy including generating a tinnitus therapy sound that is similar to a patient&#39;s perceived tinnitus sound. In one example, a method for tinnitus therapy may include tracking a tinnitus therapy over a duration, the tinnitus therapy including a tinnitus therapy sound matching a patient&#39;s perceived tinnitus played over the duration and presenting each of a volume evolution of the tinnitus therapy sound and usage data of the tinnitus therapy over the duration.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/057,589, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING ANDPRESENTING TINNITUS THERAPY DATA” filed on Mar. 1, 2016. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/057,589 is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/317,374, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORTRACKING AND PRESENTING TINNITUS THERAPY DATA,” filed on Jun. 27, 2014,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,301,714. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/317,374claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/841,221 filed onJun. 28, 2013. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/317,374 claimsfurther priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/841,254 filed onJun. 28, 2013. The entire contents of each of the above-listedapplications are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

Tinnitus is the sensation of hearing sounds when there are no externalsounds present and can be loud enough to attenuate the perception ofoutside sounds. Tinnitus may be caused by inner ear cell damageresulting from injury, age related hearing loss, and exposure to loudnoises. The tinnitus sound perceived by the affected patient may beheard in one or both ears and also may include ringing, buzzing,clicking, and/or hissing.

Some methods of tinnitus treatment and/or therapy include producing asound in order to mask the tinnitus of the patient. One example is shownby U.S. Pat. No. 7,850,596 where the masking treatment involves apre-determined algorithm that modifies a sound similar to a patient'stinnitus sound.

However, the inventors herein have recognized issues with suchapproaches. For example, the modified sound used in the treatment isgenerated using a masking algorithm that only partially modifies thespectral qualities of the tinnitus sound. As such, the modified tinnitussound includes the tinnitus sound of broad band noise only. Thus, anindividual patient's tinnitus sound may not be completely masked by themodified tinnitus sound. Additionally, such systems of masking apatient's tinnitus sound may not offer the ability to adjust the soundbased on the evolution of a patient's tinnitus over time.

In one example, a method for tinnitus therapy may include tracking atinnitus therapy over a duration, the tinnitus therapy including atinnitus therapy sound matching a patient's perceived tinnitus playedover the duration and presenting each of a volume evolution of thetinnitus therapy sound and usage data of the tinnitus therapy over theduration. In this way, changes to a patient's tinnitus therapy may betracked over a period of treatment.

It should be understood that the brief description above is provided tointroduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are furtherdescribed in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify keyor essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of whichis defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description.Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1E show schematic diagrams of example devices for a tinnitustherapy including a healthcare professional's device and a patient'sdevice.

FIG. 2 shows an example method for generating a tinnitus therapyincluding a healthcare professional's device.

FIGS. 3A-3D show example methods for generating a sound survey includingadjusting default tinnitus therapy sound templates.

FIG. 4 shows an example method for generating an audiogram includingperforming a hearing test.

FIGS. 5A-5B show an example method for tracking patient data.

FIGS. 6-12 show schematic diagrams of a user interface for displayingtracked data of a patient's tinnitus therapy.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic of a user interface for displaying patientquestionnaires including hearing tests.

FIGS. 14-15 show schematics of a report generated from tracked data of apatient's tinnitus therapy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for tinnitus therapy generation,tracking, and reviewing. In another example, the methods and systems maybe adapted for other audio therapies or neurological disorders andtreatments. In one embodiment, tinnitus therapy for the treatment oftinnitus may include therapy sessions and tracking of the therapysessions generated and carried out on a healthcare professional's deviceand a patient's device, such as the healthcare professional's device andpatient's device shown in FIGS. 1A-1E. FIGS. 2, 3A-3D, and 4 showmethods for generating a tinnitus therapy (e.g., therapy sessions) foran individual patient's perceived tinnitus using the healthcareprofessional's device. The tinnitus therapy may include a tinnitustherapy sound generated by user inputs via the healthcare professional'sdevice. The tinnitus therapy sound may be based on and include one ormore types of sounds. For example, different types of sounds such aswhite noise, pink noise, pure tone, broad band noise, and cricket noisemay be included in the tinnitus therapy sound. Specific tinnitus therapysounds, or sound templates, may be pre-determined and include a whitenoise sound, a pink noise sound, a pure tone sound, a broad band noisesound, a cricket noise sound, an amplitude modulated sine wave, and/or acombine tone sound. A user may be presented with one or more of theabove tinnitus therapy sound templates via the healthcare professional'sdevice. Using a plurality of user interfaces of the healthcareprofessional's device, a user may select and modify one or more tinnitustherapy sound templates in order to generate a tinnitus therapy soundsimilar to the user's or patient's perceived tinnitus. However, themodifications do not include adding further amplitude of frequencymodulation to the templates. In one example, a user may include amedical provider such as a physician, nurse, technician, audiologist, orother medical personnel. In another example, the user may include apatient.

Additionally, the tinnitus therapy may be tracked over time using thepatient's device, as shown at FIGS. 5A-5B. The tracked data may then bepresented to a user, used to generate a report, and/or used to adjustthe tinnitus therapy, as shown at FIGS. 6-15.

Thus, the healthcare professional's tinnitus therapy device may includea plurality of displays including a user interface for the input ofpatient data, tracking patient data, selecting tinnitus therapy soundtemplates, adjusting a tinnitus therapy sound template, and generating atinnitus therapy sound. Various input buttons or controls on the one ormore user interfaces of the healthcare professional's device may beadjusted in order to modify the tinnitus therapy sound. For example, byadjusting various input buttons, sound parameters of the tinnitustherapy sound templates and/or tinnitus therapy sound may be altered.

Additionally, a patient's device may include a plurality of displaysincluding user interfaces for performing the tinnitus therapy andadjusting the volume of the tinnitus therapy. A patient's device may beused to perform the tinnitus therapy over a set duration of time.Further, a patient's device may include a customized visualrepresentation so an individual patient may be able to view theirprogress of the tinnitus therapy. A patient's device may also trackadjustments made to the tinnitus therapy sound including volumeadjustments. Additionally, the device may also track user data includinghearing threshold data from an audiogram, patient information, and/oradjustments to the customized visual representation.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the figure shows a schematic diagram of exampledevices for a tinnitus therapy including healthcare professional'sdevice 10 and patient's device 12. Healthcare professional's device 10may be used and/or operated by a medical provider including, but notlimited to, physicians, audiologists, nurses, and/or technicians. Inanother example, healthcare professional's device 10 may be used and/oroperated by a patient. Thus, the user of the healthcare professional'sdevice may be one or more of a patient or a medical provider. Further,the user of the patient's device may be the patient.

Healthcare professional's device 10 and patient's device 12 arephysical, non-transitory devices configured to hold data and/orinstructions executable by a logic subsystem. The logic subsystem mayinclude individual components that are distributed throughout two ormore devices, which may be remotely located and/or configured forcoordinated processing. One or more aspects of the logic subsystem maybe virtualized and executed by remotely accessible networked computingdevices. Healthcare professional's device 10 and patient's device 12 maybe configured to execute one or more instructions related to a tinnitustherapy. In addition, healthcare professional's device 10 and patient'sdevice 12 may also include a user interface (e.g., display screens 14and 15) for displaying information to the user and receiving digitalinformation from the user, such as patient information and adjustmentsto the tinnitus therapy. In one example, the display screen(s) may be atouch screen. Information received from the user may be in variousdigital forms that represent a user's inputs. For example, the user mayenter text, select, and/or move slide bars or other adjustable inputbuttons. In the example of the display screen being a touch screen, theuser may adjust the input buttons through the touch screen. In anotherexample, if the display screen is not a touch screen, the user mayadjust the input buttons through a secondary device such as a computermouse and/or keyboard. Further, healthcare professional's device 10 andpatient's device 12 may generate tinnitus therapy sound templates andtinnitus therapy sounds to transmit the automatically generatedelectronic tinnitus therapy to the user. In one example, healthcareprofessional's device 10 and patient's device 12 may interact via awired or wireless network which may allow for bidirectionalcommunication between the devices. In another example, a patient'sdevice 12 may track and/or record tinnitus therapy data, includingmetadata, that may be transmitted to the healthcare professional'sdevice 10. In another example, recorded and/or stored therapy data maybe written in an HTML5 format such that the transferred data, via aremote portal, may be received on a secured webpage.

Continuing with FIG. 1A, display screen 14 of healthcare professional'sdevice 10 may include a plurality of input buttons for selecting soundparameters, such as frequency, intensity, harmonics, Q factor,reverberation, and/or white noise edge enhancement. Further, displayscreen 14 may display different combinations of input buttons andgraphics based on a selected user interface. Additional details andexamples of sample user interfaces are presented below with reference toFIGS. 1B-1E.

In the example shown in FIG. 1A, display screen 14 includes controls forgenerating a tinnitus therapy sound. The tinnitus therapy soundgenerated with the methods described below may also be referred toherein as a tinnitus sound match or a tinnitus therapy sound match. Thecontrols used for generating the tinnitus sound match include tinnitussound match input button 37, generating a tinnitus therapy via therapyinput button 34, copying a tinnitus sound match via copy tinnitus soundmatch input button 41, and adding a template to the tinnitus therapy viaadd template input button 22 (see also FIGS. 1B-1D). The tinnitustherapy sound may be generated based on adjustments to pre-definedtinnitus therapy templates, the pre-defined tinnitus therapy templatesincluding a tinnitus therapy sound or combination of sounds (e.g.,cricket noise, broad band noise, pure tone and broad band noise, etc.)within certain frequency and intensity ranges. The pre-defined tinnitustherapy templates may be modified by patient-specific hearing thresholddata such that the tinnitus therapy sound template includes a tinnitustherapy sound audible to the patient.

In one example, once a tinnitus therapy sound template is selected,specific tinnitus therapy sound template displays may be displayed intinnitus therapy sound display 18 (e.g., sound list) which may include afirst tinnitus therapy sound template display 19 and a second tinnitustherapy sound template display 20 in order to generate a specifictinnitus therapy, or tinnitus therapy sound (see also FIG. 1C). Eachtinnitus therapy sound template display may include a specific tinnitustherapy sound template (e.g., cricket noise, broad band noise, etc.),along with various input buttons to adjust sound parameters of thetinnitus therapy sound template. In one example, a first tinnitustherapy sound template display 19 and a second tinnitus therapy soundtemplate display 20 may include a cricket noise sound template, a whitenoise sound template, a pure tone sound template, and/or a broad bandnoise sound template. In addition, a tinnitus therapy sound templatedisplay may include a set of controls and/or adjustments for modifyingthe sound characteristics of the tinnitus therapy sound template. Thecontrols and/or adjustments may include a volume adjustment (e.g.intensity adjustment), a frequency adjustment (e.g., pitch adjustment),a timbre adjustment, a Q factor adjustment, a vibrato adjustment, areverberation adjustment, and/or a white noise edge enhancementadjustment. As such, the controls and/or adjustments of a template mayinclude an input button and/or slide bar input.

Display screen 14 may also include a session notes window 25 thatincludes a space to input notes about a tinnitus therapy. Notes writtenin the session notes window 25 may be displayed as part of the tinnitustherapy. Further, a sound monitor 26 adjusts the volume of thehealthcare professional's device. In one example, sound monitor 26generates a sound output in order for the tinnitus therapy sound matchto be monitored via an external speaker of the healthcare professional'sdevice 10 (not shown).

Display screen 14 may include a therapy parameter window 28. In oneexample, therapy parameter window 28 may also include a help-to-sleepoption, a changing volume option, and a maximum duration option. Theadditional features of the therapy parameter window 28 are describedfurther below with regard to FIG. 1D. Further, a sound option 33 enablesthe physician to adjust the volume of the generated tinnitus sound matchon a patient's device 12. For example, when sound option 33 is activatedon a healthcare professional's device, a user may be able to adjust thetinnitus therapy volume of the patient's device via the healthcareprofessional's device.

In order to complete the tinnitus therapy, when selected, an end sessioninput button 36, or similar input button, saves the tinnitus therapy tohealthcare professional's device 10. A wireless input 16 sends thetinnitus therapy to a patient's device 12. In one example, once thetherapy is completed and the session ends, a patient's device 12 isconnected to healthcare professional's device 10 and the tinnitustherapy is loaded onto patient's device 12. In another example, aftercompleting the tinnitus therapy on the healthcare professional's device10, the completed tinnitus therapy (or tinnitus therapy sound) may bee-mailed over a secure network which may then be accessed via aninternet connection on the patient's device 12. In yet another example,the competed tinnitus therapy sound may be transferred between thehealthcare professional's device 10 and the patient's device 12 bybidirectional communication via a wired connection or a portable storagedevice.

Patient's device 12 may include a set of customized earphones 56. In oneexample, the earphones 56 are made from medical grade silicon and arecustom molded and handcrafted to a patient's ears. Further, earphones 56may be used while generating a tinnitus therapy via a healthcareprofessional's device as well as during the tinnitus therapy via thepatient's device. In another example, another type of earphones orlistening device may be used during generating the tinnitus therapy andduring listening to the generated tinnitus therapy (e.g., tinnitus soundmatch). In some examples, a different set of earphones may be used whilegenerating the tinnitus therapy via the healthcare professional's device10 than when listening to the generated tinnitus therapy via thepatient's device 12.

In another example, patient's device 12 can be used for either day ornight treatment. If a night treatment is selected, a user interface mayinclude a display screen 15 including a help-to-sleep input 43, and awireless input 38. When selected, the help-to-sleep option plays apre-determined sound (e.g., music). The pre-determined sound is separatefrom the tinnitus therapy, the tinnitus therapy including the tinnitustherapy sound match. Further, the pre-determined sound may be played fora pre-determined amount of time (e.g., 1-60 minutes).

When the allow changing volume option from the therapy parameter window28 on healthcare professional's device 10 is selected as part of thetinnitus therapy, the patient's device 12 includes a user interface thatmay have a volume adjustment inputs 42 and 44 on display screen 15. Inone example, display screen 15 may have volume adjustment inputs 46 and48 for the left ear and volume adjustment inputs 50 and 52 for the rightear. Volume adjustment inputs 46, 48, 50, and 52 may be adjustedindependently from volume adjustment inputs 42 and 44. In anotherexample, the volume can be adjusted following the selection of thehelp-to-sleep option using volume adjustment inputs 46, 48, 50, and 52,as well as volume adjustment inputs 42 and 44. In another example,volume adjustment input 42 may increase the volume of the tinnitus soundmatch where as volume adjustment 44 may decrease the volume of thetinnitus sound match when selected. Further, volume adjustment inputs 46and 50 may increase the volume of the left ear and right ear inputs,respectively. Conversely, volume adjustment inputs 48 and 52 maydecrease the volume of the left ear and right ear inputs, respectively.

In order to start a tinnitus therapy, a user interface may include adisplay screen 15 including a start therapy input button 40. In thisexample, the pre-defined tinnitus therapy from healthcare professional'sdevice 10 will begin once the start therapy input 40 is selected. Thetinnitus therapy will play for a set duration of time based on the inputfrom the therapy parameter window 28 on healthcare professional's device10. For example, the tinnitus sound match created for the tinnitustherapy may play repeatedly without breaks for the designated durationof time. The start therapy input 40 may also be selected during atinnitus therapy session in order to pause the therapy.

FIGS. 1B-1D show schematic diagrams of a healthcare professional'sdevice including example user interfaces. In particular, FIG. 1B shows asample tinnitus sound template selection display, FIG. 1C shows a sampletinnitus sound display (e.g., tinnitus sound match display), and FIG. 1Dshows a sample therapy display, as explained above and shown at FIG. 1A.In one example, generating a tinnitus therapy involves selecting theappropriate tinnitus therapy sound template, generating a tinnitustherapy sound based on adjustments of the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate, and choosing specific therapy parameters.

Now referring to FIG. 1B, a healthcare professional's device 10 mayinclude a user interface that may include a plurality of tinnitustherapy sound template selections or displays which may be used togenerate a tinnitus therapy sound. In this example, display screen 14includes a tinnitus therapy sound template selection display 54. Atinnitus therapy sound template selection display 54 includes audiograminputs including a hearing level input 55 and a frequency input 96. Inone example, when a hearing level input 55 and a frequency input 96 areselected, a user interface may prompt a user to input hearing thresholddata (e.g. intensity and frequency thresholds). In another example,tinnitus therapy sound template selection display 54 may include ahearing test including a user generated audiogram. Specifically, a userinterface may prompt a user to perform a hearing test. Upon completionof the hearing test, an audiogram may be generated based on user inputs.Based on the generated audiogram, a user interface may prompt a user toinput the hearing threshold data into hearing level input 55 andfrequency input 96. In another example, hearing threshold data from thegenerated audiogram may automatically fill into the hearing level input55 and/or the frequency input 96 without further input from the user. Inaddition, tinnitus therapy sound template selection display 54 includescontrols for selecting a plurality of tinnitus therapy sound templates.The tinnitus therapy sound template controls may include cricket noisesound template 57, white noise sound template 58, pure tone soundtemplate 59, broad band noise sound template 60, a combination pure toneand broad band noise sound template 61, pink noise sound template 90,and amplitude modulated sine wave template 91. In an alternate example,the tinnitus therapy sound template controls (e.g., sound type options)may include cricket noise sound template 57, white noise sound template58, pure tone sound template 59, broad band noise sound template 60,pink noise sound template 90, and amplitude (or frequency) modulatedsine wave template 91.

In one example, when a tinnitus therapy sound template is selected(e.g., one of sound templates 57-61 and 90-91), a pre-defined tinnitustherapy sound template may be played and heard from an external speaker(not shown). For example, a pre-defined tinnitus therapy sound templatemay be generated and/or modified based on the hearing threshold data ofan individual patient's audiogram. Following selection of a tinnitustherapy sound template, a user interface may prompt a user to confirmthe tinnitus therapy sound template selection via display 65. Display 65includes verification inputs 62 and 63, that when selected, confirm ifthe tinnitus therapy sound template selected is the correct template tobe used for the tinnitus therapy. For example, if cricket noise soundtemplate 57 is selected and the cricket noise played is similar to thepatient's perceived tinnitus, then input 62 is selected. Conversely, ifthe cricket noise sound template played is not similar to the patient'sperceived tinnitus, then input 63 is selected. Display screen 14 alsoincludes a tinnitus therapy sound match input button 37. When thetinnitus therapy sound match input button 37 is selected, a userinterface may include a tinnitus therapy sound display, as describedfurther below with regard to FIG. 1C.

Now referring to FIG. 1C, in this example, display screen 14 ofhealthcare professional's device 10 includes a user interface includinga tinnitus sound display (e.g., tinnitus sound match refinementdisplay). As such, display screen 14 may include a tinnitus therapysound display 18 including a first tinnitus therapy sound templatedisplay 19 and a second tinnitus therapy sound template display 20. Inone example, the tinnitus therapy sound template or combination oftinnitus therapy sound templates displayed on the tinnitus therapy sounddisplay 18 may be those selected from the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate selection display 54. As such, tinnitus therapy sound display18 may include one or more selected tinnitus therapy sound templatedisplays including a cricket noise sound template display, a white noisesound template display, a pink noise sound template display, a pure tonesound template display, a broad band noise template display, anamplitude modulated sine wave template, and/or a combination pure toneand broad band noise sound template display. In this example, firsttinnitus therapy sound template 19 may be a white noise sound templatedisplay and second tinnitus therapy sound template 20 may be a pure tonesound template display. In other examples, tinnitus therapy sounddisplay 18 may include other tinnitus therapy sound template displaycombinations such as a white noise sound template display combined witha broad band noise sound template display. In another example, a puretone sound template display may be combined with a broad band noisesound template display.

In one example, tinnitus therapy sound template display 19 includesvolume adjustment inputs 66 and 67 for both left and right ears,respectively (e.g. a white noise sound template). In another example,tinnitus therapy sound template display 20 includes volume adjustmentinputs 68 and 69 for both left and right ears, respectively, anadjustment input for frequency 70, and octave adjustment inputs 23 and24 (e.g., a pure tone sound template). In another example, tinnitustherapy sound display 18 may include tinnitus therapy sound templatedisplay 21 for a broad band noise sound template which may includevolume adjustment inputs 71 and 72 for both left and right ears, anadjustment for frequency input 73, and an adjustment for Q-factor input74. Further, a cricket noise sound template display may includeadjustment inputs for both left and right ears and an adjustment inputfor frequency. In another example, tinnitus therapy sound templatedisplays may include a vibrato adjustment, reverberation adjustment,and/or a white noise edge enhancement adjustment.

After adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound templates via the tinnitustherapy sound template displays, additional tinnitus therapy soundtemplate displays may be added to tinnitus therapy sound display 18. Byselecting the add template input button 22, a user interface may prompta user to select an additional tinnitus therapy sound template displayfrom tinnitus therapy sound template display 64. Tinnitus therapy soundtemplate display 64 includes a plurality of tinnitus therapy soundtemplates including cricket noise sound template 57, white noise soundtemplate 58, pure tone sound template 59, broad band noise soundtemplate 60, a combination pure tone and broad band noise soundtemplate, pink noise sound template 90, and amplitude modulated sinewave template 91. In alternate embodiments, the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate display 64 may include a different combination of cricket noisesound template 57, white noise sound template 58, pure tone soundtemplate 59, broad band noise sound template 60, a combination pure toneand broad band noise sound template, pink noise sound template 90, andamplitude modulated sine wave template 91. For example, the tinnitustherapy sound template display 64 may include cricket noise soundtemplate 57, white noise sound template 58, pure tone sound template 59,broad band noise sound template 60, and pink noise sound template 90. Inyet another example, the tinnitus therapy sound template display 64 mayinclude white noise sound template 58, pure tone sound template 59, anda combined tone sound template, the combined tone tinnitus soundtemplate including the combination pure tone and broad band noise soundtemplate. Once a tinnitus therapy sound template is selected, thetinnitus therapy sound template display may be displayed in tinnitustherapy sound display 18 where the template(s) may then be adjusted. Assuch, the add template input button 22 enables a user to add additionaltinnitus therapy sound template displays. For example, followingselection of the add template input, two or more tinnitus therapy soundtemplate displays may be displayed in tinnitus therapy sound display.Specifically, a user may select add template input button 22 in order toadd a second tinnitus therapy sound template following adjustment of afirst tinnitus therapy sound template. For example, a first tinnitustherapy sound template may be a white noise sound template and a secondtinnitus therapy sound template may be a pure tone sound template. Assuch, a white noise template may be adjusted prior to addition of thepure tone sound template. Following the adjustment of the white noisesound template, a pure tone sound template may be adjusted. In anadditional example, a first tinnitus therapy sound template and a secondtinnitus therapy sound template may be adjusted simultaneously. In thisway, a pure tone template may be added to the tinnitus therapy displayprior to a white noise sound template adjustment and both the whitenoise and pure tone sound templates may be adjusted together. Adjustingthe template may include, for example, adjusting frequency, intensity,timbre, vibrato, Q factor, reverberation, and/or white noise edgeenhancement. Following the adjustment of the first and second tinnitustherapy sound templates, the tinnitus therapy sound templates may becombined to create a tinnitus therapy sound.

Display screen 14 of healthcare professional's device 10 including thetinnitus therapy sound display 18, may include controls for selecting atherapy display via therapy input button 34 and loading a previouslygenerated and saved tinnitus sound via load match input button 39.Following the conclusion of the tinnitus therapy sound process, atherapy input button 34 may be selected and a user interface may includea tinnitus therapy including therapy parameter window 28 as describedfurther below with regard to FIG. 1D. Further, before adjusting thetinnitus therapy sound templates displayed in tinnitus therapy sounddisplay 18, a load tinnitus sound match input button may be selected anda user interface may include the previously adjusted tinnitus soundtemplate in the tinnitus therapy sound display 18.

Referring now to FIG. 1D, in this example, display screen 14 ofhealthcare professional's device 10 shows an example tinnitus therapyscreen. Display screen 14 includes a therapy parameter window 28. In oneexample, therapy parameter window 28 includes the help-to-sleep option30, allow changing volume option 32, and maximum duration input 29. Thehelp-to-sleep option delays the start of the tinnitus therapy for useduring night therapy. The help-to-sleep option includes a timeout option31 that adjusts the time in which the help-to-sleep feature is active(e.g., 1-60 minutes). The allow changing volume option 32 enablesmodification of the tinnitus sound volume during therapy. However, ifthis option is turned off, the volume will stay as established by thephysician (or other user) during the generation of the tinnitus therapy.The therapy parameter window 28 may also include a maximum durationinput 29 that sets a maximum time duration for playing the tinnitustherapy (e.g., 1-8 hours).

Further, display screen 14 may include controls for generating atinnitus therapy sound match via tinnitus sound match input button 37,loading a previously generated tinnitus therapy via a tinnitus therapyinput button 35, copying a tinnitus therapy sound match via copytinnitus sound match input button 41, and adding a template via addtemplate input button 22. For example, before adjusting the therapyparameters, tinnitus therapy input button 35 may be selected and agraphical user interface will display a previously adjusted tinnitustherapy in therapy parameter window 28. The therapy input button may beselected if no modifications to the therapy parameters are required.Following the selection of the therapy parameters for the tinnitustherapy, a tinnitus match input button 37 may be selected and a userinterface may include a tinnitus match display including previouslyselected tinnitus sound templates. A match input button 37 may beselected, for example, if further modifications to the tinnitus therapysound templates need to be made before finalizing the tinnitus therapy.

FIG. 1E shows a schematic diagram of another example user interface ofthe patient's device 12. Specifically, the display screen 15 shown inFIG. 1E shows a therapy selection screen. The display screen includes asleep input button 80, an awake input button 82, and an appointmentbutton 84. As described above, a user or patient may use the patient'sdevice in sleep or awake mode. A healthcare professional may instructthe patient as to which therapy mode to use when assigning a tinnitustherapy protocol. Additionally, the appointment button 84 allows thepatient's device 12 to be connected (e.g., wirelessly connected) withthe healthcare professional's device 10 in order to generate, analyze,and/or adjust a tinnitus therapy. Thus, the display screen 15 shown inFIG. 1E may be an initial screen viewed by the patient before eitherstarting the tinnitus therapy or connecting to a healthcareprofessional's device to create and/or adjust the tinnitus therapy.

As described above, the system of FIGS. 1A-1E provide for a tinnitustherapy system, comprising one or more physical, non-transitory, devicesconfigured to hold data and/or instructions executable by a logicsubsystem to generate a tinnitus therapy sound based on a tinnitustherapy sound type selected by a user from a set of pre-defined tinnitustherapy sound templates. The generated tinnitus therapy sound mayfurther be based on one or more of an intensity and frequency level ofthe selected tinnitus therapy sound template selected by the user. Inone example, a first physical, non-transitory, device of the one or morephysical, non-transitory, devices includes a user interface, such thatthe user interface includes a plurality of input buttons for selectingsound parameters. Additionally, the data and/or instructions are furtherexecutable to receive a patient's audiogram data, and to send thegenerated tinnitus therapy sound to a second physical, non-transitory,device of the one or more physical, non-transitory, devices. In anadditional example, the second physical, non-transitory, device includesone or more intensity controls for adjusting an intensity of thegenerated tinnitus therapy sound. Further, the data and/or instructionson the second physical, non-transitory, device are executable to playthe generated tinnitus therapy sound repeatedly without breaks and trackintensity adjustments to the generated tinnitus therapy sound over time.

FIG. 2 shows an example method 200 for generating a tinnitus therapyusing instructions stored on and executed by a logic subsystem of ahealthcare professional's device, as explained with regard to FIGS.1A-1D. For example, a healthcare professional's device may includetinnitus sound templates, the tinnitus sound templates includingtinnitus therapy sound types, in order to generate a tinnitus therapysound (e.g., tinnitus sound match). As such, the healthcareprofessional's device may be used to generate a tinnitus therapy basedon the selected tinnitus therapy sound templates and adjustments made tothe selected tinnitus therapy sound templates and/or the tinnitustherapy sound.

The method 200 begins at 202 where a sound survey is displayed. Themethod at 202 may further include completing the sound survey. In oneexample, completing the sound survey may include receiving inputs viainputs (e.g., adjustment buttons) displayed on the user interface viathe display screen. For example, the sound survey may include a hearingthreshold data input and the selection of sound templates. In anotherexample, the sound survey may include a hearing test. The hearing testmay include generating an audiogram based on the hearing test data. Themethod at 202 for completing the sound survey is shown in further detailat FIGS. 3A-3B. In one example, the tinnitus sound templates may includetwo or more of a cricket noise sound template, a white noise soundtemplate, a pink noise sound template, a pure tone sound template, abroad band noise sound template, an amplitude modulated sine wavetemplate, and a combination pure tone and broad band noise soundtemplate. In an additional example, the sound templates selected may bea combination of at least two tinnitus therapy sound templates.

At 204, the method includes determining if the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate(s) have been selected. Once the template(s) are selected, at206, a tinnitus therapy sound may be generated based on the sound surveyand adjustments made to the frequency and intensity inputs. Herein, atinnitus therapy sound may also be referred to as a tinnitus therapysound match and/or tinnitus sound match. Methods for adjusting eachtinnitus sound template (e.g., for each tinnitus sound type) are shownat FIGS. 4-8, described further below. In one example, a single tinnitustherapy sound template may be selected and subsequently the tinnitustherapy sound template may be adjusted. Specifically, two tinnitustherapy sound templates may be selected. As such, a first tinnitustherapy sound template and a second tinnitus therapy sound template maybe adjusted separately. For example, generating a tinnitus sound mayinclude adjusting firstly a white noise sound template and secondly apure tone sound template. In another example, a first tinnitus therapysound template and a second tinnitus therapy sound template may beadjusted simultaneously. In this way, generating a tinnitus sound mayinclude adjusting a white noise sound template and a pure tone soundtemplate together. Once the adjustments to the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate(s) are made, the tinnitus sound templates may be combined tomake a specific tinnitus therapy sound. In one example, a generatedtinnitus therapy sound may be played to a user to determine if thetinnitus therapy sound resembles the patient's perceived tinnitus. Thegenerated tinnitus therapy sound may need additional adjustments and afirst and/or second tinnitus therapy sound template may be re-adjusted.A tinnitus therapy sound may be generated following the additionaladjustments of the tinnitus therapy sound template(s).

Further, generating a tinnitus therapy sound may, also include adjustingfirstly a white noise sound template and secondly a broad band noisesound template. In an additional example, generating a tinnitus soundmatch may include adjusting firstly a pure tone sound template andsecondly a broad band noise sound template. In another example,generating a tinnitus sound match may include adjusting firstly acricket noise sound template and secondly a white noise sound template.

Additionally, generating a tinnitus sound match may include three ormore tinnitus therapy sound templates. As such, a combined tinnitustherapy sound match may include, in one example, adjusting firstly apure tone sound template, secondly a broad band noise sound template,and thirdly a white noise sound template. In another example, a combinedtinnitus therapy sound match may include adjusting firstly a cricketnoise sound template, secondly a broad band noise template, and thirdlya white noise sound template. In an additional example, a combinedtinnitus therapy sound match may include adjusting firstly a white noisesound template, secondly a pure tone sound template, thirdly a broadband noise template, and fourthly a cricket noise sound template.

Further, therapy parameters may be added to the tinnitus therapy soundto finalize the tinnitus therapy sound. In one example, therapyparameters may include adding a help-to-sleep feature, setting themaximum duration of the tinnitus therapy, and allowing a user to adjustthe volume during the tinnitus therapy. At 208, the tinnitus therapysound may be saved and finalized. Once the tinnitus therapy sound isfinalized, the tinnitus therapy is complete and may be sent to thepatient's device. In one example, the healthcare professional's deviceis configured to hold instructions executable to send the generatedtinnitus therapy sound to a second physical, non-transitory device(e.g., the patient's device). In another example, finalizing thetinnitus therapy sound includes assigning the generated tinnitus therapysound to an individual patient of the individual patient audiogram.Assigning the tinnitus therapy sound also includes storing the generatedtinnitus therapy sound with a code corresponding to the individualpatient.

Now referring to FIGS. 3A-3C, an example method 300 for generating thesound survey, including adjusting tinnitus sound templates is shown. Thesound survey may include inputting hearing threshold data determined byan audiogram and selecting tinnitus therapy sound templates in order tocreate a tinnitus therapy sound. As such, a tinnitus therapy soundtemplate may be selected based on the similarity of the tinnitus therapysound template (e.g. tinnitus sound type) to the patient's perceivedtinnitus. The sound survey is an initial step in generating a tinnitustherapy sound such that the template(s) selected will be adjustedfollowing the conclusion of the sound survey.

FIG. 3A shows example tinnitus therapy sound template selectionsincluding sound template adjustment parameters. Creating a tinnitustherapy may include presenting each of a white noise, a pink noise, apure tone, a broad band noise, a combined pure tone and broad bandnoise, a cricket noise, and an amplitude modulated sine wave tinnitustherapy sound template to a user. In an alternate embodiment, creating atinnitus therapy may include presenting a different combination of thesesound templates to a user. For example, creating a tinnitus therapy mayinclude presenting each of a white noise, a pink noise, a pure tone, abroad band noise, and a cricket noise tinnitus therapy sound template toa user. In yet another example, creating the tinnitus therapy mayinclude presenting each of a white noise, a pure tone, and a combinedtone tinnitus therapy sound template to a user. The combined tone may bea combination of at least two of the above listed sound templates. Forexample, the combined tone may include a combined pure tone and broadband noise tinnitus therapy sound template.

After playing each of the available tinnitus therapy sound templates,the user may select which sound type, or sound template, most resembledtheir perceived tinnitus. In this way, generating a tinnitus therapysound may be based on the tinnitus therapy sound template selected bythe user. After selecting one or more of the tinnitus therapy soundtemplates, the selected sound template(s) may be adjusted to moreclosely resemble the patient's perceived tinnitus. Adjusting thetinnitus therapy sound, or tinnitus therapy sound template, may be basedon at least one of a frequency parameter and an intensity parameterselected by the user. As discussed above, a tinnitus therapy soundtemplate(s) may be selected if the tinnitus therapy sound(s) resemblesthe perceived tinnitus sound of a patient. However, in one example, apatient's perceived tinnitus sound may not resemble any of the tinnitustherapy sound templates. As such, at 358, an unable to match input maybe selected. Upon selection of an individual tinnitus therapy soundtemplate, a tinnitus therapy sound template may include adjustmentinputs including adjustments for frequency, intensity, timbre, Q factor,vibrato, reverberation, and/or white noise edge enhancement. Thepre-determined order of adjustments of the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate(s) selections are described below with regard to FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3A begins at 302, by selecting a white noise sound template. Whitenoise sound template adjustments may include, at 304, adjustments forintensity and adjustments for reverberation, at 306. For example,adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound may be first based on the intensityparameter and second based on a reverb input when the tinnitus therapysound template selected by the user is the white noise tinnitus therapysound template. If a pink noise template is selected at 303, the pinknoise sound template may be adjusted based on intensity at 305 andreverberation at 307. Adjustments to the pink noise sound template maybe similar to adjustments to the white noise sound template. Forexample, adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound may be first based on theintensity parameter and second based on a reverb input when the tinnitustherapy sound template selected by the user is the pink noise tinnitustherapy sound template. In another example, a pure tone sound template,at 308, may be selected. A pure tone sound template may be adjustedbased on frequency, at 310, and intensity, at 312. In addition, a puretone sound template may be further adjusted base on timbre, at 314. Inone example, timbre may include an adjustment of the harmonics of atinnitus therapy sound including an octave and/or fifth harmonicadjustments. Further, a pure tone sound template may be adjusted basedon a reverberation, at 316, and a white noise edge enhancement, at 318.In one example, adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound may be first basedon the frequency parameter, second based on the intensity parameter,third based on one or more timbre inputs, further based on areverberation (e.g., reverb) input, and fifth based on an edgeenhancement input when the tinnitus therapy sound template selected bythe user is the pure tone sound template. In another example, a whitenoise edge enhancement may be a pre-defined tinnitus therapy soundtemplate. Herein, a white noise edge enhancement sound template may bereferred to as a frequency windowed white noise sound template.Additionally, a white noise edge enhancement adjustment may includeadjusting the frequency windowed white noise based on an intensityinput.

Continuing with FIG. 3A, a broad band noise sound template, at 320, maybe selected. A broad band noise sound template may include an adjustmentfor frequency, Q factor, and intensity, at 322, 324, and 326,respectively. Further adjustments to a broad band noise sound templatemay include reverberation, at 328, and white noise edge enhancement, at330. For example, adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound may be firstbased on the frequency parameter, second based on a Q factor input,third based on the intensity parameter, fourth based on a reverberationinput, and fifth based on an edge enhancement input when the tinnitustherapy sound template selected by the user is the broad band noisetinnitus therapy sound template.

At 332, a combination tinnitus sound template may be selected. Acombination tinnitus sound template may include both a pure tone and abroad band noise sound. As such, the combination pure tone and broadband noise sound template may include adjustments for frequency, Qfactor, and intensity, at 334, 336, and 338, respectively. A combinationpure tone and broad band noise sound template may include furtheradjustments for timbre, reverberation, and white noise edge enhancement,at 340, 342, and 344, respectively. For example, adjusting the tinnitustherapy sound may be first based on the frequency parameter, secondbased on a Q factor input, third based on the intensity parameter,fourth based on a timbre input, fifth based on a reverberation input,and sixth based on an edge enhancement input when the tinnitus therapysound template selected by the user is the combined pure tone and broadband noise tinnitus therapy sound template.

At 346, a cricket noise sound template may be selected. A cricket noisesound template may include adjustments for frequency, at 348, andintensity, at 350. Further adjustments to a cricket noise template mayinclude a vibrato adjustment, at 352. A vibrato adjustment may includeadjustment to the relative intensity of the cricket noise soundtemplate. A cricket noise sound template may also include adjustmentsfor reverberation, at 354, and white noise edge enhancement, at 356. Forexample, adjusting the tinnitus therapy sound may be first based on thefrequency parameter, second based on the intensity parameter, thirdbased on a vibrato input, fourth based on a reverberation input, andfifth based on an edge enhancement input then the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate selected by the user is the cricket noise tinnitus therapysound template.

At 355, an amplitude modulated sine wave sound template may be selected.In one example, the amplitude modulated sine wave template may include abase wave and carrier wave component. Additionally, the amplitudemodulated sine wave template may include adjustments for intensity(e.g., amplitude) at 357, or alternatively adjustment to the base wavefrequency. In alternate embodiments, additional or alternativeadjustments may be made to the amplitude modulated sine wave soundtemplate.

In another embodiment, the tinnitus therapy sound template(s) mayinclude a plurality of tinnitus therapy sounds including but not limitedto the tinnitus therapy sounds mentioned above with regard to FIG. 3A.For example, FIG. 3A may include alternative or additional soundtemplates which may be displayed and played for the user. Specifically,in one example, an additional combination tinnitus sound template may bepresented to and possibly selected by the user. In one example, theadditional combination tinnitus therapy sound template may include acombined white noise and broad band noise sound template. In anotherexample, the additional combination tinnitus therapy sound template mayinclude a template combining more than two tinnitus therapy sound types.

It should be appreciated that once a user selects a sound template andits properties (such as intensity or frequency), no additionalmodulation is applied to the selection. Further it should be appreciatedthat once a user selects a sound level, treatment or therapy where theselected sound is replayed occurs at the selected sound level withoutlowering.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, method 300 begins at 360 by obtainingaudiogram data via an audiogram input and/or patient hearing data. Theaudiogram input may include hearing threshold data. In one example, thehearing threshold data may be determined at an earlier point in timeduring a patient audiogram. An individual patient's hearing thresholddata may include decibel and frequency data. As such, the frequency,expressed in hertz (Hz), is the “pitch” of a sound where a high pitchsound corresponds to a high frequency sound wave and a low pitch soundcorresponds to a low frequency sound wave. In addition, a decibel (dB)is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantityrelative to an implied reference level such that the physical quantityis a sound pressure level. Therefore, the hearing threshold data is ameasure of an individual patient's hearing level or intensity (dB) andfrequency (Hz). Additionally, the audiogram input and/or patient hearingdata may be received by various methods. In another example, a userinterface may prompt a user to perform a hearing test in order to obtainaudiogram data, as described below. Based on a generated audiogram fromthe hearing test, a user may input hearing level and frequency data whenprompted by the user interface. In yet another example, the audiograminput of patient hearing data may be uploaded to the healthcareprofessional's device via a wireless network, a portable storage device,or another wired device. In another example, the audiogram or patienthearing data may be input by the user (e.g., medical provider) with theuser interface of the healthcare professional's device.

At 362, the method includes determining if the hearing threshold datafrom the audiogram has been received. Once the audiogram data has beenreceived, at 364, the initial tinnitus therapy sound template settings(e.g., frequency and intensity) may be modified by the hearing thresholddata from an individual patient's audiogram. For example, in order forthe tinnitus therapy sound template to be in the correct hearing rangeof an individual patient, specific frequency and intensity ranges maynot be included in the tinnitus therapy sound template. Specifically, ifan audiogram's hearing threshold data reflects mild hearing loss of apatient (e.g., 30 dB, 3000 Hz), the frequency and intensity rangeassociated with normal hearing will be eliminated from the templatedefault settings (e.g., 0-29 dB; 250-2000 Hz) such that a defaultsetting starts at the hearing level of the patient. In one example, anaudiogram may include a range of frequencies including frequencies at125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 6000 Hz,8000 Hz, 10,000 Hz, 12,000 Hz, 14,000 Hz, 15,000 Hz, and/or 16,000 Hz.

Additionally, the hearing threshold data from an individual patient'saudiogram may be used to determine sensitivity thresholds (e.g.,intensity and frequency) of the tinnitus therapy sound. For example,hearing threshold data may include maximum intensity and frequencythresholds for an individual patient such that the tinnitus therapysound template's intensity and/or frequency may not be greater than apatient's sensitivity threshold. As such, the sensitivity levels willfurther limit the intensity and frequency range of the tinnitus therapysound template. As such, the frequency and intensity range of thetinnitus therapy sound template may be based on the hearing level andhearing sensitivity of the patient. Therefore, at 364, the tinnitustherapy sound template(s) default settings are adjusted to reflect theaudiogram, hearing threshold data, and hearing sensitivity of thepatient.

At 366, a plurality of tinnitus therapy sound templates may bedisplayed. In one example, the tinnitus therapy sound templates mayinclude tinnitus sounds including cricket noise, white noise, pinknoise, pure tone, broad band noise, amplitude modulated sine wave sound,and a combination of pure tone and broad band noise. Specifically, eachtinnitus therapy sound template may be pre-determined to include one ofthe above listed tinnitus sounds having pre-set or default soundcharacteristics or template settings (e.g., frequency, intensity, etc.).As described above, in other examples more or less than 6 differenttinnitus therapy sound templates may be displayed.

At 368, the tinnitus therapy sound template selection process begins byplaying pre-defined tinnitus therapy sounds (e.g., sound templates). Inone example, the pre-defined tinnitus therapy sounds may be played in apre-determined order including playing a white noise sound firstfollowed by a pink noise sound, pure tone sound, a broad band sound, acombination pure tone and broad band sound, a cricket noise sound, andamplitude modulated sine wave sound. In another example, the tinnitustherapy sounds may be played in a different order. Further, thedifferent tinnitus therapy sounds may either be presented/playedsequentially (e.g., one after another), or at different times. Forexample, the sound templates may be grouped into sound categories (e.g.,tonal or noise based) and the user may be prompted to first selectbetween two sound templates (e.g., cricket and white noise). Based onthe user's selection, another different pair of sound templates (ortinnitus therapy sounds) may be displayed and the user may be promptedto select between the two different sound templates. This process maycontinue until one or more of the tinnitus therapy sound templates areselected. In this way, the method 300 may narrow in on a patient'stinnitus sound match by determining the combination of sound templatesincluded in the patient's perceived tinnitus sound.

FIG. 3D presents an example method 390 of an order of presenting thedifferent tinnitus therapy sounds (e.g., sound templates) to the user.As such, method 390 may be performed during step 368 in method 300. At392, the method includes presenting a user, via a user interface of thehealthcare professional's device, with a noise-based sound template anda tone-based sound template. The noise-based sound template may be awhite noise sound template, a broad band noise sound template, a pinknoise sound template, or some combination template of the white noise,broad band noise, and/or pink noise sound templates. The tone-basedsound template may be a pure tone sound template, a cricket soundtemplate, or some combined pure tone and cricket sound template.

At 394, the method includes determining if the noise-based sound waspredominantly selected. In one example, the noise-based sound may bepredominantly selected if an input selection of the noise-based sound isreceived. In another example, the user interface of the healthcareprofessional's device may include a sliding bar between the noise-basedand tone-based sounds. In this example, the noise-based sound may bepredominantly selected if an input (e.g., a sliding bar input) isreceived indicating the tinnitus sound is more like the noise-basedsound than the tone-based sound. If an input of a predominantlynoise-based sound is received, the method continues on to 396 where themethod includes presenting the user with a white noise sound, a pinknoise sound, and/or a broad band noise sound. The method then returns370 in FIG. 3B. In one example, a patient may be presented with twodifferent noise based sounds and then be able to use a slide bar toselect whether the tinnitus sound sounds more like a first sound or asecond sound. It should be appreciated that the sound may be selectedfor the left or the right or both. Conversely at 394, if the noise-basedsound is not predominantly selected, the method continues on to 398 topresent the user with a pure tone sound and a cricket sound. The methodthen returns to 370 in FIG. 3B. Other methods of presenting thedifferent sound types (e.g., templates) to a user are possible and mayinclude presenting the sound templates in different combinations and/ororders.

Following the presentation of the tinnitus therapy sound template, theuser interface of the healthcare professional's device will display aprompt to the user confirming the tinnitus therapy sound templateselection. For example, confirming the tinnitus therapy sound templateselection may include selecting whether the selected sound template issimilar to the patient's perceived tinnitus. At 370, the method 300includes determining if a white noise sound is selected. In one example,a white noise sound may be selected if the presented white noise soundresembles a patient's perceived tinnitus. At 370, if a white noise soundis selected as a tinnitus sound similar to that of the patient's, themethod continues on to 372 to display a white noise sound template. Inone example, upon selection of a tinnitus therapy sound template, atinnitus sound, corresponding to the selection, will be presented to theuser. Following the presentation of the tinnitus therapy sound template,a user interface will display a prompt to the user confirming thetinnitus therapy sound template selection (e.g., white noise soundtemplate). Once the tinnitus therapy sound template is selected, theuser interface will display the tinnitus therapy sound template on thetinnitus therapy sound screen.

Method 300 continues to 373 in FIG. 3C where the method includesdetermining if a pink noise sound template is selected. If a pink noisesound template is selected as a tinnitus sound similar to that of thepatient's, the method continues to 375 to display a pink noise soundtemplate. If pink noise is not selected, the method continues on to 374where the method includes determining if a pure tone sound template isselected. If a pure tone sound template is selected as a tinnitus soundsimilar to that of the patient's, at 376, the pure tone sound templateis displayed in the and further adjustment to the pure tone soundtemplate may be made. If a pure tone sound is not selected, at 378, themethod includes determining if a broad band noise sound is selected. Ifa broad band sound template is selected as a tinnitus sound similar tothat of the patient's, at 380, the broad band noise sound template isdisplayed and further adjustment to the broad band noise sound templatemay be made.

If a broad band noise sound is not selected, at 382, the method includesdetermining if a combination of pure tone and broad band noise sound isselected. If a combination of pure tone and broad band noise soundtemplate is selected as a tinnitus sound similar to that of thepatient's, at 384, the combination pure tone and broad band noise soundtemplate is displayed and further adjustment to the combination puretone and broad band noise sound template may be made.

If a combination of pure tone and broad band noise sound is notselected, at 386, the method includes determining if a cricket noisesound is selected. In one example, the user interface of the healthcareprofessional's device will prompt a user to select a cricket noise soundtemplate. If the cricket noise sound template is selected, at 388, auser interface will display a cricket noise sound template.

If the cricket noise sound template is not selected at 386, the methodcontinues to 387 to determine if an amplitude modulated sine wavetemplate is selected. If the amplitude modulated sound template isselected, at 389, a user interface will display the amplitude modulatedsine wave template. A user may then adjust an intensity and/oradditional sound parameters of the sine modulated sine wave template.After any user inputs or adjustments, the method may include finalizingthe tinnitus therapy sound including the amplitude modulated sine wavetemplate.

An individual patient's perceived tinnitus may incorporate a pluralityof tinnitus sounds; therefore, the method 300 may be repeated until allrequired templates have been selected. For example, a patient'sperceived tinnitus may have sound characteristics of a combination oftinnitus sounds including white noise and broad band noise, white noiseand pure tone, or pure tone and broad band noise. In yet anotherexample, the patient's perceived tinnitus may include soundcharacteristics of two or more tinnitus sounds including two or more ofwhite noise, pink noise, broad band noise, pure tone, amplitudemodulated sine wave, and cricket. Additionally, the tinnitus therapysound generated based on the selected tinnitus therapy sound templatesmay contain different proportions of the selected sound templates. Forexample, a generated tinnitus therapy sound may contain both pure toneand cricket sound components, but the pure tone component may make up alarger amount (e.g., 70%) of the combined tinnitus therapy sound. Assuch, two or more tinnitus therapy sound templates may be selectedduring the template selection process. In one example, a first tinnitustherapy sound template may include a white noise sound and a secondtinnitus therapy sound template selection may include a pure tone sound.In another example, a first tinnitus therapy sound template may includea broad band noise sound template and a second tinnitus therapy soundtemplate may include a white noise sound template. In another example,the first tinnitus therapy sound template may include a pure tone soundand a second tinnitus therapy sound template may include a broad bandnoise sound. In another example, a first tinnitus therapy sound templatemay include a cricket noise sound and a second tinnitus therapy soundtemplate may include a white noise sound template.

In an additional example, a first tinnitus therapy sound template mayinclude a pure tone sound template, a second tinnitus therapy soundtemplate may include a broad band noise sound template, and a thirdtinnitus therapy sound template may include a white noise soundtemplate. In another example, a first tinnitus therapy sound templatemay include a cricket noise sound template, a second tinnitus therapysound template may include a broad band noise template, and a thirdtinnitus therapy sound template may include a white noise soundtemplate. In an additional example, a first tinnitus therapy soundtemplate may include a white noise sound template, a second tinnitussound template may include a pure tone sound template, a third tinnitustherapy sound template may include a broad band noise template, and afourth tinnitus therapy sound template may include a cricket noise soundtemplate. After receiving one or more tinnitus therapy templateselections, the selected tinnitus therapy template(s) may then beindividually or simultaneously adjusted, to create the tinnitus therapysound.

Now referring to FIG. 4, an example method 400 for generating anaudiogram is shown including performing a hearing test. A hearing testmay be performed during a sound survey including the tinnitus therapysound template selection process, as described above with reference toFIGS. 3B-3D. Further, the hearing test data may be used to generate anaudiogram. A patient's audiogram may be used to set the pre-definedfrequency and intensity parameters of the tinnitus therapy soundtemplate(s).

At 402, the method includes displaying a hearing test for a user. In oneexample, a hearing test may include a hearing level and intensity table.The hearing level and intensity table may include a plurality of inputsincluding hearing level or intensity inputs and frequency inputs. Inanother example, the hearing level and intensity table may include arange of frequencies and intensities. At 404, the method includesdetermining if a hearing level and frequency input selection has beenreceived. If an input selection has not been received, the methodcontinues to display the hearing test. However, if a frequency andintensity input has been received, at 406, the method includes playing apre-determined sound based on an input selection. In one example, if auser selects a frequency input and an intensity input, a correspondingsound may be presented to the user. In another example, a user interfacemay prompt a user to confirm if the sound played is within a user'shearing range. The method, at 408, includes adjusting the hearing testbased on user frequency and intensity input selection. In one example, ahearing level and intensity table may be adjusted to include a range offrequencies and intensities based on the user selection. For example,frequencies and intensities that are not in the range of the user'shearing levels might not be available for selection by the user.

At 410, the method includes determining if the adjustment of the hearingdata is complete. If the adjustment is not complete, the methodcontinues, at 408, until the adjustment to the hearing data iscompleted. The method, at 412, includes generating and displaying anaudiogram based on the adjusted hearing data. In one example, based onthe user selected inputs, an audiogram might be displayed. An audiogrammay include the hearing level and frequency of a patient. In anotherexample, the generated audiogram may be used in the tinnitus therapysound template selection. Further, the audiogram data may be used to setthe pre-defined frequency and intensity levels of the tinnitus therapysound template, as described above with reference to FIGS. 3B-3D.Additionally, the audiogram data and/or hearing test results may bestored in the healthcare professional's device and accessed via aquestionnaires screen of the healthcare professional's device (as shownin FIG. 13, discussed further below), the questionnaires screenincluding a list of any completed hearing tests.

FIGS. 5A-5B show an example method 500 for recording and trackingpatient data. Method 500 further includes presenting the tracked data toa user and adjusting the tinnitus therapy based on the tracked data.Once a tinnitus therapy sound match (e.g., tinnitus therapy sound) isgenerated and uploaded onto a patient's device, a patient may beinstructed to use the patient's device over a set duration of time. Inone example, a patient's device may include data and/or instructionsthat are executable to play the generated tinnitus therapy soundrepeatedly without breaks. In addition, the patient's device may recordall performed actions to the device during usage. In one example, thepatient's device may also track intensity adjustments to the generatedtinnitus therapy sound over time. In this way, a physician may reviewand track the recorded data, thereby determining the progress of thetinnitus therapy. In addition, the accumulation of an individualpatient's tracked data may generate a medical record including a patientaudiogram, the tinnitus therapy sound, and a patient adjusted tinnitustherapy sound.

In some embodiments, the patient or user may have one or more tinnitussound matches (e.g., one or more generated tinnitus therapy sounds). Forexample, more than one tinnitus sound match may be generated andassigned to a single patient. In another example, the patient may adjust(e.g., alter) their sound match using the process described above inFIGS. 3A-3D on a device at home (e.g., the same or similar to thehealthcare professional's device). In this way, the patient may generateand/or modify their tinnitus sound match to create new sound matchesdifferent than their original sound match. The patient may then chooseto play any of their generated tinnitus sound matches based on changesto their perceived tinnitus sound and/or based on an indication from ahealthcare professional. For example, the patient may listen todifferent tinnitus sound matches on different nights or during differentsessions.

At 502, the method includes determining if a therapy session hasstarted. In one example, a therapy session may not begin until a startbutton input is selected on the patient's device (e.g., start therapyinput button 40 shown in FIG. 1A). Once the therapy session has started,at 504, therapy data from the patient's device may be recorded for theduration of the therapy session. In one example, recorded data mayinclude a patient's information, date of the therapy session, time ofday the therapy session, and/or volume usage (e.g., changes inintensity). The recorded data may further include the specific tinnitustherapy sound match that was played during a session. This may includean identifier (e.g., match 1 or match 2) for each tinnitus sound matchcreated by a user or patient. For example, upon creation of a tinnitussound match, the sound match may be assigned a unique name and/oridentifying information that identifies and differentiates the uniquesound match from other sound matches for a same patient (or user). If apatient has more than one tinnitus sound match, the recorded data mayinclude individual intensity changes for each sound match. In anotherexample, the recorded volume usage may include changes in intensity toboth right and left ear inputs. As such, a user may change the intensityof the tinnitus therapy sound match at the start of the therapy sessionas well as during the therapy session. In another example, the patient'sdevice may be continuously playing the tinnitus therapy sound withoutbreaks and tracking intensity changes to the continuously playedtinnitus therapy sound over time.

At 506, the method includes determining if the therapy session hasended. For example, in order for a therapy session to end, a finishbutton input may be selected. Alternatively, the therapy session may endafter a therapy duration has passed. If the session has not ended,recording of the therapy data may be continued. Once a finish input hasbeen selected, at 508, the recorded therapy data may be saved and storedon the patient's device, at 510. Following the conclusion of a tinnitustherapy session, for example, a plurality of tinnitus therapy sessionsmay be played on a patient's device. Therefore, an accumulation ofrecorded data may be saved and stored on a patient's device. At 512, therecorded therapy data may be uploaded. In one example, the patient'sdevice may receive a signal from a healthcare professional's device(e.g., tablet, desktop computer, etc.) to upload the recorded therapydata. As such, uploading the recorded data may occur wirelessly. Inanother example, the uploaded data may include date of the therapysession, time of day the therapy session was played, and changes inintensity (e.g., volume usage). In yet another example, therapy data mayalso include metadata from the patient's device. Further, at 514, thepatient's identification information is uploaded to a healthcareprofessional's device. In one example, a plurality of recorded data maybe uploaded to a healthcare professional's device. As such, a patientmedical record (e.g., report) may be generated. In one example,generating a patient medical record may include a patient audiogram, thecombined tinnitus therapy sound, and a patient adjusted tinnitus therapysound.

Further, the uploaded recorded data may be stored and saved on ahealthcare professional's device, thereby allowing a physician to trackthe recorded data over multiple therapy sessions. As such, trackingchanges to the therapy session over a duration of time may determinepatient progress to the tinnitus therapy. In one example, trackingchanges of a patient's device may include remotely tracking intensitychanges to the combined tinnitus therapy sound. In another example,tracking changes of a patient's device may include remotely transferringtracked changes to a secured data network.

The method continues to 516 in FIG. 5B where the method includespresenting the tracked therapy data to a user (e.g., a patient and/orhealthcare professional). In one example, after a duration or a seriesof therapy sessions, a patient may have an appointment with a healthcareprofessional. Additionally or alternatively, a patient may view thetracked data on their own. In one example, presenting the trackedtherapy data includes presenting each of a volume evolution (e.g.,intensity changes) and usage data of the tinnitus sound match. Thevolume evolution may include changes in an overall, right ear, and/orleft ear volume of the played tinnitus sound match (e.g., the volume ofthe sound match as listened to by the patient). Additionally, the volumeevolution may be presented as volume changes over time or over a seriesof sessions. Usage data may include a frequency of use or frequency oflistening to the sound match. For example, presenting the usage data mayinclude one or more of presenting a total number of sessions, a date ofa first session, a date of a last (e.g., most recent) session, anaverage session length, an average daily usage (e.g., in hours per day),and/or an average weekly usage (e.g., days per week). Presenting therapydata may also include presenting therapy details such as the tinnitussound matches (e.g., all the different sound matches used by thepatient) and prescribed therapy parameters such as the help-to-sleepoption and the allow to adjust volume option. In one example, thetracked therapy data may be presented to the user via a user interfaceof the healthcare professional's device, such as the user interfacesshown in FIGS. 6-13, discussed further below. Tracking and viewing thechanges made to the tinnitus therapy sound match over a duration of timemay aid in determining patient progress with the tinnitus therapy.

Method 500 may further include, at 518, generating a report based on thetracked therapy data. In one example, the report may include a sessionreport showing data for a particular (e.g., selected) session (e.g., onenight of listening to the sound match). In another example, the reportmay include an evolution report, such as the evolution report shown inFIG. 14 and FIG. 15, described further below. The evolution report maypresent patient details, a volume evolution for a series of sessions, aswell as usage data and sound match details (e.g., sound matchcomposition such as pure tone or combined white noise and pure tonesound) for each session in the series of sessions. In one example, ahealthcare professional may generate the report during an appointmentwith the patient. In another example, a user (e.g., patient) may createthe report after tracking one or more therapy sessions.

In some examples, the tracked therapy data may be used to make changesto the generated tinnitus therapy sound match. Thus, at 520, the methodmay include adjusting the tinnitus therapy based on the tracked andpresented therapy data. In one example, a user may adjust a patient'stinnitus sound match and/or therapy parameters of the tinnitus soundmatch based on the tracked data. More specifically, as one example,adjusting the tinnitus therapy may include changing one or more soundparameters of the tinnitus sound match. For example, intensity,frequency, or other sound parameters of one or more sound templatesincluded in the tinnitus sound match may be adjusted. In anotherexample, a new template may be added to the tinnitus sound match oranother sound template may be removed from the tinnitus sound match. Inanother example, a new tinnitus sound match may be created including adifferent sound template than the original sound match. In yet anotherexample, the prescribed duration of therapy, the day/night option, thehelp-to-sleep option, or the allow volume change option may be changedbased on the tracked data. In this way, a user may utilize tracked datato guide tinnitus therapy changes in order to better treat the patient.In some examples, adjusting the tinnitus therapy may follow similarmethods to those presented in FIGS. 3A-3D, as described above. Bytracking patient therapy data over time and subsequently presenting thetracked data to a user, changes to (or the evolution of) a patient'stinnitus may be identified. Further, by adjusting the patient's tinnitustherapy (including the tinnitus sound match) based on the trackedtherapy data, a more effective tinnitus treatment may be prescribed tothe patient. As a patient's tinnitus continues to evolve over time, thetinnitus therapy may be updated to match a patient's perceived tinnitussound and further reduce the patient's tinnitus.

In alternate embodiments, the methods presented above at FIGS. 1A-4 forgenerating a tinnitus therapy sound or match may also be used togenerate a sound or match for therapy of other neurological disorders.For example, the generated audio sound may be at least partially usedfor treating neurological disorders such as dizziness, hyperacusis,misophonia, Meniere's disease, auditory neuropathy, autism, chronicpain, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and recovery from stroke. In thisembodiment, sound templates may be adjusted based on patient data, thepatient data being specific to the neurological disorder. In someexamples, different combinations of the above described sound templatesmay be used to generate an audio sound or match for one of theneurological disorders.

The healthcare professional's device may allow a healthcare provider tomanage one or more patients or users. For example, the healthcareprofessional's device may include one or more administrative or patientmanagement screens (e.g., user interfaces or displays) that enabled thehealthcare provider to select and then manage data of one or morepatients. For example, a patient may be selected and statistics (e.g.,tracked data) may be provided to show a patient's progress or datatracking for a single session or a plurality of sessions. Informationregarding the patient or patient's tinnitus therapy may be inputted,tracked and in some examples linked with other records or databases,including but not limited to digital medical records.

FIGS. 6-12 show example user interfaces for a healthcare professional'sdevice for displaying and analyzing tracked data of a patient's tinnitustherapy. In one example, the tracked patient data may include one ormore of a total number of therapy sessions (each session being a periodof continuous use, without breaks, of listening to the tinnitus therapysound match), a duration of each session, an average session duration, afrequency of the sessions, volume changes (e.g., volume evolution) toeach tinnitus sound match or overall volume changes, etc. FIGS. 6-12 mayinclude common inputs, buttons, boxes, or other interface elements andmay only be described once. These common elements may be labeledsimilarly throughout the figures. FIG. 13 shows an example userinterface for displaying patient questionnaires including hearing tests.Further, FIGS. 14-15 show schematics of a report generated from trackeddata of a patient's tinnitus therapy. The report may be displayed on auser interface of the healthcare professional's device and then beeither transferred to an alternate device (e.g., e-mailed or wirelesssent to a patient's device), printed, or stored in an electronic patientrecord. The example user interfaces shown in FIGS. 6-15 may includesimilar parts and features as described above for the healthcareprofessional's device 10 shown at FIGS. 1A-1D. As such, descriptions ofthe similar features and/or components may be found above with referenceto FIGS. 1A-1D. For example, the example user interfaces may correspondto the display screen 14 of the healthcare professional's device 10shown in FIGS. 1A-1D. Further, the user interfaces may be used to atleast partially perform the methods described above with reference toFIGS. 2-4. It should be appreciated that the user interfaces describedand discussed herein are provided for illustrative purposes only, andare not intended to be limiting its scope.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic 600 of a user interface 602 (e.g., displayscreen 14 of healthcare professional's device 10) displaying a patientoverview screen 605. On one side of the display there is a browserscreen 604. The browser screen 604 may be accessed from a main menuscreen (not shown) and may allow a user to browse patients, devices andsessions. A user may return to the main menu screen by selecting themain menu input button 616. As shown in FIG. 6, the browser screen 604includes a patients input button 606, a devices input button 608, and asessions input button 610. Selecting any of these three input buttonsmay load the patient overview screen 605 (may also be referred to hereinas a quick view screen). Selecting the devices input button 608 mayallow a user to select a patient's device (e.g., a device external tothe healthcare professional's device). Alternatively, a patient's datafrom a patient's device may be uploaded to the healthcare professional'sdevice before beginning an analysis session. In one example, selectingthe devices input button 608 may cause a list of devices that have beenpreviously connected to the healthcare professional's device to appear.Alternatively, a name of the patient's device may be input into a searchbox 612. Further, the search box 612 may be used to search for aspecific item (e.g., device, patient, or session) when a correspondinginput button (e.g., device input button 608, patient input button 606,or session input button 610) is selected. After selecting a desiredpatient's device, the patient overview screen 605 will load and populatewith data from the selected patient's device paired with the healthcareprofessional's device. In another example, if a patient's device has notbeen previously paired with the healthcare professional's device,another input button may enable pairing (e.g., wirelessly) between thetwo devices.

By selecting the patients input button 606 (as shown in FIG. 6), apatient list 614 may appear within the browser screen 604. The patientlist may include a list of patients' full names (e.g., last and firstnames). Upon selecting a patient from the patient list 614, the patientoverview screen 605 corresponding to the selected patient will appear ona side of the user interface 602. For example, as shown in FIG. 6,Patient #2 is selected in the patient list 614 and the data for Patient#2 is displayed in the patient overview screen 605.

Additionally, by selecting the sessions input button 610, a session list(shown in FIG. 7, described further below) may appear showing a list ofsessions corresponding to a selected patient and/or device. Further, theuser interface 602 may include a time display (e.g., current time) 618and a battery display 620.

The patient overview screen 605 includes a patient's name and sessiondata section 622. The patient's name and session data section 622includes the patient's name, patient's age, and the date and time of thepatient's last session (e.g., last period of listening to the tinnitussound match and tracking patient data). The patient overview screen 605further includes a volume evolution chart 624 displaying (e.g.,presenting) volume changes (e.g., intensity changes) throughout theselected patient's therapy sessions. Specifically, the volume evolutionchart 624 displays volume (e.g., in dB) on the y-axis and session dateon the x-axis. Each therapy session may include a session where thetinnitus therapy sound match was played for a duration (e.g., playedcontinuously for the duration). A first line 626 indicates the volume inthe left ear and a second line 628 indicates the volume in the rightear. In some examples, the volume evolution chart may also includedifferent colored (or shaded) columns that indicate different therapies.For example, if a patient changes the therapy during a session (e.g.,changes the volume, tinnitus sound match, or another therapy parameter),a color change may appear on the chart. Additionally, a darker verticalline on the chart may indicate when an appointment occurred (e.g., anappointment with a healthcare professional).

The patient overview screen 605 also includes a statistics box 630. Thestatistic box 630 includes patient information unique to the selectedpatient including: date of a first session, date of a last session,total number of sessions, average daily use (e.g., in hours per day),and average weekly use (e.g., in days per week). In other embodiments,the statistics box 630 may include additional or alternative patientinformation. The patient overview screen 605 may include a device box632 showing information specific to a patient's device. For example, thedevice box 632 may display a device name that the healthcareprofessional's device is paired with. A reports input 634 may also bedisplayed on the patient overview screen 605. The reports input 634results in a session report or an evolution report to display, as shownin FIGS. 14-15, discussed further below. Further still, the patientoverview screen 605 includes an appointment input 636 allowing a user tostart a new patient session. Finally, the patient overview screen 605may include a detail view input 638 resulting in a patient detail viewscreen to be displayed, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, described further below.

FIGS. 7-12 show schematics of the user interface 602 displaying apatient detail view screen 702. More specifically, FIG. 7 shows aschematic 700 of the patient detail view screen 702 displaying thevolume evolution chart 624, FIG. 8 shows a schematic 800 of the patientdetail view screen 702 displaying a volume detail chart 802, and FIG. 9shows a schematic 900 of the patient detail view screen 702 displaying ausage detail chart 902. FIG. 10 shows a schematic 1000 of the patientdetail view screen 702 displaying the volume evolution chart 624 with aselected session highlighted, FIG. 11 shows a schematic 1100 of thepatient detail view screen 702 displaying a volume detail chart 802 withthe selected session highlighted, and FIG. 12 shows a schematic 1200 ofthe patient detail view screen 702 displaying a usage detail chart 902with the selected session highlighted.

The patient detail view screen 702 displays (e.g., presents) detailedinformation for a selected patient to a user, the detailed informationproviding a user a way to view and analyze tracked tinnitus therapy dataincluding volume evolution and usage data. Specifically, the patientdetail view screen 702 displays the selected patient's name, age, anddate and time of the patient's last session (e.g., the last time thatthe patient listened to their tinnitus therapy sound). As shown in FIGS.7-12, this information is displayed at a top of the patient detail viewscreen 702. At a bottom of the patient detail view screen 702, theappointment input 636, reports input 634, done button 716 and aquestionnaires button 718 are displayed. The done button 716 may closethe patient detail view screen 702 and return a user to the patientoverview screen 605 shown in FIG. 6 and the questionnaires button mayopen a questionnaires screen for completing or conducting newquestionnaires, as shown in FIG. 13, described further below.

The patient detail view screen 702 also includes a session list 704displaying a list of all the patient's sessions. As such, the sessionlist 704 reports a session history of the patient. The sessions may belabeled in the session list 704 with a date and time that the sessionoccurred. The type of session may also be listed under each session inthe session list 704 (e.g., therapy sound match event). When one of thesessions in the session list 704 is selected, a column corresponding tothat session in the volume evolution chart may be highlighted, as shownin FIGS. 10-12, described further below.

A session notes box 706 may display any notes taken by the patientduring the selected session. Additionally, a user may use the userinterface 602 to add or edit notes to the session notes box 706. Forexample, a user may tap within the session notes box 706 and a keyboardmay appear on the user interface 602 for entering notes into the sessionnotes box 706. A device box 708 displays information specific to theselected patient's device (e.g., device name). The device box 708 mayalso allow a user to unpair the device from the selected patient.

Additionally, the patient detail view screen 702 includes a tinnitussound match box 720 displaying the tinnitus sound match details. Forexample, when a session is highlighted, as shown in FIGS. 10-12, thetinnitus sound match box 720 may display the tinnitus sound match usedduring the selected session (e.g., shows an identifier or labelcorresponding to a specific tinnitus sound match). As discussed above, auser or patient may have more than one tinnitus sound match and use(e.g., listen to) different matches during different sessions. A usermay listen to the tinnitus sound match used during the selected sessionby pressing a play button (shown in FIGS. 10-12). A user may also adjustthe playback volume of the tinnitus sound match by adjusting a slidingmonitor volume bar 722. A therapy box 724 displays tinnitus therapydetails of a selected session (as shown in FIGS. 10-12). Tinnitustherapy details may include one or more of a help to sleep timeout(e.g., a duration of using the help to sleep option), allow volumechange option, etc.

The patient detail view screen 702 includes a volume evolution button710, a volume detail button 712, and a usage detail button 714. Thesethree buttons allow a user to toggle between the volume evolution chart624 (shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 10, described further below), a volumedetail chart (shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11, described further below), anda usage detail chart (shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 12, described furtherbelow). When the volume evolution button 710 is selected, as shown inFIG. 7 and FIG. 10, the user interface 602 displays the volume evolutionchart 624, as described with reference to FIG. 6 above.

When the volume detail button 712 is selected, as shown in FIG. 8 andFIG. 11, the user interface 602 displays the volume detail chart 802.The volume detail chart 802 shows a volume change (e.g., a volume changein dB) throughout a patient's therapy (e.g., over a series of therapysessions). More specifically, the volume detail chart 802 shows volumeon the y-axis and session date on the x-axis. A user may select eitherthe left or right ear volume by selecting either the left ear button 804or the right ear button 806, respectively. As such, only the left orright ear volume data may be displayed at one time on the volume detailchart 802. In other examples, both the left and right ear volume may bedisplayed at the same time on the volume detail chart 802. As shown inFIG. 8 and FIG. 11, the volume detail chart 802 is shown as a bar chart.In alternate embodiments, the volume detail chart 802 may be a linegraph or other type of chart.

When the usage detail button 714 is selected, as shown in FIG. 9 andFIG. 12, the user interface 602 displays the usage detail chart 902. Theusage detail chart 902 shows tracked data of when therapy sessionsoccurred. For example, the usage detail chart 902 shows time of day(e.g., 24-hour clock cycle) on the y-axis and date (e.g., session date)on the x-axis. Each bar 904 covers the hours that the tinnitus therapywas conducted (e.g., the hours that a patient listened to the tinnitustherapy sound) on each session date. The length of each bar mayrepresent a duration of the therapy. Thus, longer bars represent alonger session duration. A user may see how consistently the patientuses the therapy.

As shown in FIGS. 10-12, when a specific therapy session is selectedfrom the session list 704, the chart data corresponding to the selectedsession is highlighted on the selected chart (e.g., on the volumeevolution chart 624, volume detail chart 802, or usage detail chart 902.For example, as shown in FIGS. 10-12, the second session 1002 isselected and thus that corresponding session is highlighted in thecharts, as shown by box 1004. More specifically, the entire length ofthe data corresponding to the selected session is highlighted. Asintroduced above, the tinnitus sound match box 720 displays tinnitussound match details and may include a play button 1006 for playing backthe tinnitus sound match used during the selected session. In oneexample, the tinnitus sound match details may include an average volumefor the left and right ear and/or a frequency of the sound match.Additionally, the therapy box 724 displays tinnitus therapy details ofthe selected session and may also include another play button 1008 forplaying back the tinnitus sound match used during the selected session.The tinnitus therapy details may include one or more of a help to sleeptimeout (e.g., a duration of using the help to sleep option), allowvolume change option, etc. In one example, as shown above, only a singlesession may be selected and highlighted in the charts at once. Inalternate embodiments, more than one session, or a series of sessions,may be selected and highlighted within the same chart.

Turning now to FIG. 13, user interface 602 is shown displaying a patientquestionnaires screen 1302. As described above, the questionnairesscreen 1302 may be displayed upon selecting the questionnaires button718 on the patient detail view screen 702. The questionnaires screen1302 may be used to display already completed questionnaires or createand conduct new questionnaires. Questionnaires may include hearing testssuch as an audiogram hearing test (as shown in FIG. 4, described above)and/or tinnitus hearing-aid index (THI) tests. The questionnaires screen1302 includes a display of the patient's name (e.g., Patient #2), thepatient's age, and date of the patient's last therapy session. Anypreviously conducted questionnaires may be listed in the previousquestionnaires list 1304. THI tests may be listed and/or data from THItests may be listed in an additional list 1306 shown on the right-handside of the questionnaires screen 1302. A new questionnaire may becreated by selected the new questionnaire button 1308. For example, uponselecting the new questionnaire button 1308, an audiogram may beperformed following the method outlined in FIG. 4.

Turning to FIGS. 14-15, an example evolution report 1400 is shown, theevolution report created from tracked tinnitus therapy data. Asdescribed in FIG. 5 above, one or more reports may be generated fromtracked patient (e.g., therapy) data. FIG. 14 shows a first page of theevolution report 1400 displaying patient details and a volume evolutionover a therapy duration (e.g., over a series of therapy sessions). Theevolution report 1400 may include healthcare provider information, asshown at 1402, including a clinic name, address, healthcare providername, and/or phone. The evolution report 1400 may further includepatient personal information, as shown at 1404, including patient name,patient id (e.g., identifier information), patient gender, and/orpatient birth date. At 1406, the evolution report 1400 may include anotes section where a user or healthcare provider may insert any notespertaining to the patient, tinnitus therapy, and/or tracked data. At1408, the evolution report 1400 may present statistics of the tinnitustherapy over the therapy duration (e.g., over the series of sessionsincluded in the report). For example, as shown at 1408, the statisticssection may include a date of the first session in the series ofsessions, a date of the last session in the series of sessions, averagedaily use, average weekly use, and total number of sessions in theseries of sessions. In alternate embodiments, the statistics section mayinclude additional or alternative therapy statistics. Additionally, theusage data may be presented in different units (e.g., minutes per dayvs. hours per day). At 1410, the evolution report 1400 includes a volumeevolution chart. The volume evolution chart may be the same as thevolume evolution chart 624 shown in FIG. 6, as described above. As such,the volume evolution chart displays changes in left ear and right earvolume (e.g., in dB or another volume measurement) over the series ofsessions.

FIG. 15 shows an example second page of the evolution report 1400. Thepatient's name and/or patient ID may be displayed at a top of the secondpage (and any additional pages of the evolution report 1400). The secondpage of the evolution report 1400 displays details of each therapysession in the series of sessions. More specifically, the evolutionreport 1400 includes therapy details for each therapy session startingwith the most recent. In alternate examples, the therapy sessions may bepresented in an alternate order (e.g., oldest first). Each therapysession in the list includes a date of the therapy, a list of each soundcomponent (e.g., each sound component of the tinnitus sound match), afrequency of each sound component, a volume for the left ear of eachcomponent, a volume for the right ear of each component, a total volumefor the left and right ear, a maximum allowed stimulation time, whetheran allow volume change was enabled, whether a help-to-sleep (HTS) optionwas enabled, and a duration of a HTS timeout.

For example, a first therapy session, labeled “Therapy 1”, is shows at1502. The sound type component of the tinnitus sound match (e.g., puretone) and frequency of the sound component is shown at 1504. In thisexample, Patient #2's sound match only included a pure tone component ata frequency of 2205 Hz. Further, the left and right ear intensity of thesound match, as listened to by the user, is also listed at 1504. Theadditional therapy details, such as the maximum allowed stimulation time(e.g., duration of playing the sound match continuously without breaks),allow HTS, and allow volume change, is displayed at 1506. As shown at1508, the left and right ear volume was decreased by the user during thetherapy 4 session. The evolution report 1400 may include as many pagesas necessary to present all the therapy sessions in the series oftracked therapy sessions.

As one example, a method for tinnitus therapy comprises tracking atinnitus therapy over a duration, the tinnitus therapy including atinnitus therapy sound matching a patient's perceived tinnitus playedover the duration and presenting each of a volume evolution of thetinnitus therapy sound and usage data of the tinnitus therapy over theduration. Tracking the tinnitus therapy over the duration includestracking volume changes to the tinnitus therapy sound. Further, in oneexample, tracking the tinnitus therapy over the duration includestracking volume changes separately for a left ear input and a right earinput. In one example, the duration includes a series of sessions, thetinnitus therapy sound played continuously for a prescribed amount oftime during each session of the series of sessions. Tracking thetinnitus therapy over the duration includes tracking one or more of adate, time, and duration of each session in the series of sessions.Additionally, the usage data includes one or more of a total number ofsessions in the series of sessions, a date and time of a first sessionof the series of sessions, a date and time of a last session of theseries of sessions, an average daily use, an average weekly use, and alength of each session. In one example, presenting the volume evolutionof the tinnitus therapy sound includes visually presenting trackedchanges to left and right ear volume inputs by a user over the durationin a volume evolution chart, the volume evolution chart includingchanges in volume vs. session date. The method may further comprisegenerating a report based on the tracked changes, the report including avolume evolution of the tinnitus therapy sound over the duration.

As another example, a method for tinnitus therapy comprises trackingchanges to a tinnitus therapy over a duration, the tinnitus therapyincluding at least two different tinnitus sound matches based on apatient's perceived tinnitus, the tracking including individuallytracking intensity changes to each of the at least two different soundmatches. In one example, the individually tracking intensity changes toeach of the at least two different sound matches includes individuallytracking left and right ear input volume changes to each of the at leasttwo different sound matches. The method may further comprise trackingusage of each of the at least two different tinnitus sound matches,wherein tracking usage includes tracking one or more of a date, time,and duration of each use of each of the at least two different tinnitussound matches. As one example, a first match of the at least twodifferent sound matches includes a different tinnitus sound type than asecond match of the at least two different sound matches, the differenttinnitus sound type including one of a pink noise, a cricket sound, awhite noise, a broad band noise, or a pure tone sound. The method mayfurther comprise displaying the individually tracked intensity changestogether on a single chart.

As yet another example, a method for tinnitus therapy comprises trackingtherapy data of a tinnitus therapy over time, the tinnitus therapyincluding a tinnitus sound matching a patient's perceived tinnitus,presenting the tracked therapy data, and adjusting the tinnitus therapybased on the tracked data. The method may further comprise presentingtherapy details of the tinnitus therapy corresponding to the trackedtherapy data, the therapy details including one or more of a list ofeach sound component of the tinnitus sound and a corresponding frequencylevel, a help-to-sleep option, an allow changing volume option, aprescribed therapy duration, and a prescribed time of day for therapy.Additionally, the method may further comprise playing back the tinnitussound corresponding to the tracked therapy data. Adjusting the tinnitustherapy based on the tracked data includes adjusting one or more therapyparameters of the tinnitus therapy. The one or more therapy parametersmay include sound parameters of one or more components of the tinnitussound match, allow volume changes option, and/or the components (e.g.,sound types) of the tinnitus sound match. Additionally, the trackedtherapy data includes one or more of a volume evolution of the tinnitussound over time, separate volume evolutions of the tinnitus sound overtime for a right ear and left ear input and usage data, the usage dataincluding one or more of a number of therapy sessions, an average dailyusage, an average weekly usage, and a therapy duration for each sessionof the number of therapy sessions. In one example, tracking therapy dataincludes remotely tracking each of intensity changes to the tinnitussound and usage of the tinnitus sound and remotely transferring trackedchanges to a secured data network. In another example, the trackingtherapy data includes tracking the therapy data with a first device, thefirst device used to deliver the tinnitus therapy and wherein presentingthe tracked therapy data includes presenting the tracked data to a uservia a user interface of a second device, the second deviceelectronically coupled with the first device in order to transfer thetracked therapy data to the second device. The method may furthercomprise generating a patient medical record, the patient medical recordincluding a patient audiogram, the tinnitus sound, the tracked therapydata and the adjusted tinnitus therapy.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralof said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated.Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present invention arenot intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unlessexplicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising,”“including,” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having aparticular property may include additional such elements not having thatproperty. The terms “including” and “in which” are used as theplain-language equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein.” Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. areused merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numericalrequirements or a particular positional order on their objects.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable a person of ordinary skillin the relevant art to practice the invention, including making andusing any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods.The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and mayinclude other examples that occur to those of ordinary skill in the art.Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims ifthey have structural elements that do not differ from the literallanguage of the claims, or if they include equivalent structuralelements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages ofthe claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for tinnitus therapy, comprising:presenting a plurality of different sound templates to a user from aseries of tinnitus therapy sound templates, the series of tinnitustherapy sound templates including at least a noise spectrum, a puretone, and a combined sound template; receiving a selection by the userof one or more of the plurality of different sound templates to generatea sound match; generating a tinnitus therapy including a tinnitustherapy sound based on the selections; applying the generated tinnitustherapy to a patient's ear with a sound generating device over aduration; displaying the generated sound match; and tracking thetinnitus therapy applied by the device over the duration, whereindisplaying the generated sound match includes displaying a customizedvisual representation of an individual patient's therapy.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein tracking the tinnitus therapy over the durationincludes tracking volume changes to the tinnitus therapy.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the noise spectrum is a white noise.
 4. The methodof claim 2, wherein the noise spectrum is a pink noise.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the noise spectrum is band noise.
 6. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the noise spectrum is broad-band noise.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the series of tinnitus therapy sound templatesinclude a cricket sound.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the series oftinnitus therapy sound templates include an amplitude modulate sinewave.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration includes a seriesof sessions, the tinnitus therapy sound played continuously for aprescribed amount of time during each session of the series of sessions.10. The method of claim 9, wherein tracking the tinnitus therapy overthe duration includes tracking one or more of a date, time, and durationof each session in the series of sessions.
 11. The method of claim 8,further comprising presenting usage data of the tinnitus therapy overthe duration.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage dataincludes a total number of sessions in a series of sessions.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the usage data includes a date and time of afirst session of a series of sessions.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein the usage data includes, a date and time of a last session of aseries of sessions.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage dataincludes, an average use.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the usagedata includes, a length of a session.
 17. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising presenting a volume evolution of the tinnitus therapy soundover the duration, wherein presenting the volume evolution of thetinnitus therapy sound includes visually presenting tracked changes toleft and right ear volume inputs by the user over the duration.
 18. Amethod for tinnitus therapy, comprising: presenting each of a noise, apure tone, and a combined tone tinnitus therapy sound template to auser; generating a tinnitus therapy sound based on one or more tinnitustherapy sound templates selected by the user; adjusting the tinnitustherapy sound based on at least one of a frequency parameter and anintensity parameter selected by the user; applying the adjusted tinnitustherapy sound to a patient's ear with a sound generating device over aduration; and tracking at least one parameter change of the tinnitustherapy sound applied over the duration and communicating the trackedchanges, including displaying a customized visual representation of anindividual patient's therapy on a graphical user interface.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising generating a report based on thetracked parameter change.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprisingtracking usage of the applied adjusted tinnitus therapy sound, whereintracking usage includes tracking one or more of a date, time, andduration of the applied adjusted tinnitus therapy sound.